Texans Want Legalization Of Marijuana

As you probably know by now, two states (Colorado & Washington) legalized the possession, taxation, and recreational use of small amounts of marijuana by adults in the last election. This was a huge step forward in this country, and many (including me) now expect other states to follow suit in the next few years.

But I don't think anyone expects Texas to be one of those states. After all, the people of Texas keep voting keep putting ultra-right, reactionary, fundamentalists in positions of power in the state -- and those officials are unlikely to loosen the marijuana laws any time soon. In Texas currently, marijuana is illegal, and the possession of a small amount (an ounce or less) can result in a $2000 fine and a year in jail -- and possession of more than that tiny amount can result in many years in a state prison.

But we may have sold the citizens of Texas short. A new poll shows that a clear majority of them do not support the prohibition of marijuana that has been imposed and supported by the state government. That new poll is a survey done by Public Policy Polling of 860 randomly selected Texas voters between September 27th and 29th (with a 3.3 point margin of error).

It seems that Texans are tired of jailing and/or heavily fining people for the medical or recreational use of marijuana, resulting in needlessly giving honest & hard-working people a criminal record. A fair sized majority (easily exceeding the margin of error) wants doctors to be able to prescribe marijuana for their sick patients (58%), and wants possession of small amounts of marijuana decriminalized, making it a civil rather than criminal offense, and reducing any fine to no more than $100 (61%).

But even more unexpected is that a majority of Texans would support legalizing the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana -- and taxing and regulating that in a fashion similar to alcohol. That would be supported by 58% of the citizens of Texas (and opposed by only 38%). And note in the chart below that this support stretches across age, gender, racial & ethnic, and political lines. The only people without majority support for the idea are Republicans (and 48% of them would support legalization).

It seems that the support for legalizing marijuana is picking up steam, and even has significant support in normally-backward states like Texas.